Chile's Lagos drops out of 2017 presidential race

Former Chile's president and center-left presidential candidate Ricardo Lagos gives a thumbs up after dropping out his presidential campaign, in Santiago, April 10, 2017. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Center-left Chilean presidential candidate Ricardo Lagos has dropped out of the nation’s 2017 presidential campaign, he said in televised remarks on Monday, after the nation’s powerful Socialist Party endorsed a different candidate on Sunday.

His departure leaves leftist independent Alejandro Guillier as the only mainstream left-of-center candidate in the nation’s presidential field.